Effects of Three Types of Separator Membranes on the Microbial Fuel Cells Performance

Abstract

Separator membrane in microbial fuel cell (MFC) is one of the main structures and could significantly affect the performance and the cost of MFCs. Proton exchange membranes (PEMs) are typically used in two-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to separate the anode and cathode chambers while to allow protons transferring from anode to the cathode. Three types of separator membranes (Proton Exchange Membrane, MH; 0.22μm Synthetic Fabric Membrane, M0.22; 0.015μm Track-Etch Membrane, M0.015) were used in microbial fuel cell (MFC) to investigate their effect on MFC performance in this study. Membrane internal resistance, membrane biofouling and oxygen diffusion were analyzed. Results from imaging analysis coupled with FTIR, SEM and EDX demonstrated that the fouling layer attached on membranes consisted of microorganisms encased in extracellular polymers and inorganic salt precipitations. M0.22 had a best maximum power density among three kinds of membranes, and the cost of M0.22 is the lowest. Therefore, M0.22 might be a promising membrane to be used in MFC. Keywords-component; power density; internal resistance; membranes; membrane fouling; microbial fuel cells (MFC).